Lab testing of one of the first Soloist Carbon prototypes
Cervélo's customer service point man Chris Bastie builds up Jens Voigt's prototype
Jens Voigt tests the prototype during the 2005 Tour de Suisse
The ultimate reward for Jens Voigt; yellow in the Tour | | “This year Team CSC have benefitted from arguably the most sophisticated bike in the pro peloton, the Cervélo Soloist Carbon”
- CycleSport
As early as 2001, long before Cervélo’s affiliation with Team CSC, we initiated a project called FM28, which ultimately became the Soloist Carbon. Yet this model probably shows better than any other the fruits of our labor with Team CSC.
The first years of the project were earmarked for aerodynamic testing. With the aero features settled on, focus switched to the structural design of the frame. Developments in carbon fiber frame design go very rapidly at Cervélo, so the design goals were adjusted several times along the way. Around that same time, we had started to supply frames to Team CSC and in our discussions with Bjarne Riis it became apparent that their ultimate frame closely matched what we were working on for FM28.
This greatly helped us to get buy-in from the team to set up an extensive testing program with them. Where the original 2001 plan would have called for local road testing, now we could use the world-class riders of Team CSC to perform the road testing. Of course, the best testing is in races when the pressure and the demands are highest, but this is also the time the teams do not want any distractions. By 2005 our relationship with the team was so close that they were comfortable enough to test the first FM28 prototypes in one of the biggest races of the year, the 2005 Giro d'Italia. So one of our owners, Gerard Vroomen, flew off to Reggio Calabria with the first prototypes, and returned a few days later with feedback from several riders and Bjarne Riis himself.
Six iterations later, our customer service point man Chris Bastie flew to the Dauphiné-Libéré and the Tour de Suisse with what we thought was the ultimate version, V7. Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Bobby Julich and Jens Voigt confirmed everything was good to go, but in parallel to the team testing we had made and tested five more lay-ups. In the end, lay-up seven was picked for pilot production (nine frames of which went to the Team for the Tour) and feedback from the Tour was so positive that we went into full production without any further changes.
Jens Voigt put his Soloist Carbon to good use in his stage 9 breakaway at the Tour, perfectly showcasing his and his bike's strengths. The yellow jersey was the deserved reward. Since then, The Soloist Carbon has won race after race, with the 2006 Amstel Gold Race win by Fränk Schleck and the 2006 Tour stage win by again Jens Voigt as the highlights. 2007 has once again seen a plethora of wins for the Soloist Carbon and its popularity is still increasing. No wonder as it is still the only truly aero road bike in the world.
The magazines have been equally impressed with the Soloist Carbon showing up on covers in France, Spain and the US. CycleSport did a very extensive article on the making of the Soloist Carbon, which makes for very interesting reading. It can be found elsewhere on this website on the reviews page. The Soloist Carbon was also named Bike of the Year in the USA, Germany, France, Australia and the UK. |
| | To learn more about the Soloist Carbon, check out this cervelo.tv video by Cervélo co-founder Phil White, "live from the Tour". Below you will also find videos of Fränk Schleck's Amstel Gold win and an incredible mountain ride by Jens Voigt at stage 6 of the 2006 Tour of Germany, both on a Soloist Carbon.
Cervelo .tv Video |
| | No compromise - Extremely aerodynamic yet among the lightest frames in the ProTour and with excellent stiffness & compliance properties. New profile downtube - Our work into improving the downtube and headtube on the P3C has directly benefited the Soloist Carbon. Horizontal teardrop-shaped sloping toptube - Since the toptube has a slope to it, the aerodynamics can be improved by giving it the proper airfoil cross section in the direction of the airflow. Stealth aero headtube – While the headtube may look round at the front, this is an optical illusion. The headtube is ultra thin and only 1mm wider than the P3C headtube. Although the leading edge is kept straight, the sides neck down in the center section, resulting in a very good airfoil shape around the headtube in combination with a classic side profile. Oversized bottom bracket area – The increased volume of the bottom bracket area provides even greater bb stiffness so that Jens can continue to power away from the competition. The smooth contours of the BB volume help both for this BB stiffness and also for its strength as the fibers have a much more continuous path to transfer the loads better. Wolf seatstays – The seatstays have an asymmetric design from our Wolf family of airfoil shapes, designed for optimal airflow around a thin frame member interacting with a spinning wheel. ICS Internal Cable Stops - The best internal cable stop system available. Easy to install, easy to service, easy to keep clean and improved aerodynamics. |
| Upgrades from Soloist Team |
| | Lighter frame - While the Soloist Team is already at a competitive weight (after all, Bobby Julich won a fairly mountainous Paris-Nice with it), the use of carbon fibre allows us to bring the weight down to be one of the lighter frames in the ProTour, despite the "handicap" of using aero tubing and having to pass our stiffness and strength standards. Higher bottom bracket and torsional stiffness - While even the biggest riders on Team CSC had no complaints in this department when it comes to the Soloist Team, the additional torsional stiffness makes the Soloist Carbon track through the switchbacks in fast descents even better. One-position aero carbon seatpost - To save weight, the Soloist Carbon ships standard with an aero one-position seatpost. But the regular two-position post will also fit on the Soloist Carbon, so those who wish to use the Soloist Carbon in the forward position still can. |
| | When Cervélo first started using tube profiles as designed by the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), it caused quite a stir in the bike industry. These tubeshapes are the result of years and years of research and do a very good job of reducing the aerodynamic drag created by the tubes. We manufactured extrusion dies specifically for these NACA profiles, as it was the only way to get the tube shapes accurate. But while NACA profiles are good, they are not ideal for bicycles. NACA profiles are generally designed for higher speeds, even those designed for "low-speeds" were made with speeds in mind that go beyond most cyclists' abilities. Therefore we have turned our attention to designing our own airfoils at Cervélo in the past few years, improving wherever possible on the foundation laid by NACA. The result is the latest family of airfoils, from the shapes used on the Soloist, Dual and P series TT/Tri bikes to the Wolf shapes optimized for frame and fork shapes adjacent to spinning wheels. While difficult to detect visually, the tube shapes and aspect ratios on the Soloist Carbon offer small improvements compared to the standard Soloist. The downtube has the same profile as the P3C, while the seattube is tweaked and repositioned to take advantage of the possibilities the carbon offers us. A great improvement was made in the shape of the headtube airfoil section and the way it blends in with the downtube and toptube. The headtube shape is slightly different than the P3C due to different stiffness-weight-aerodynamics requirements, but it is still a very big step forward compared to regular headtubes, both in terms of narrowness (only 1mm wider than the P3C) and aerodynamic cross section shape. |
| | Ever since we started using TrueAero profiles, we have used Smartwall butting to design lateral stiffness into the aero tubes without creating vertical harshness. On the latest iterations of our aero carbon frames, we use a modified version of our Smartwall philosophy. We still stiffen the tubes laterally but not only do we change the thickness of the tubes as we would do with our Aluminum tubes, we also adjust the lay-up pattern and the material properties of the carbon we use to achieve stiffness where needed (laterally) and compliance where desired (vertically). |
| Tech Presentation - What Function? |
 | | This presentation documents the design and engineering process of the FM28 Soloist Carbon project. It will demonstrate:
- the lead-up to the project,
- the goals,
- design challenges,
- R&D supporting the design decisions,
- the prototyping,
- the lab & road testing.
Our goal is to give you a real insight into how the Soloist Carbon came to be, why the details on the bike are as they are and what function this form follows. To view, click here. |
The two seattube angles (73 & 76 degrees) can only be obtained with the optional two-position seatpost. With the single-position seatpost, only the 73 degree angle should be considered | | Our road bike geometry is a little different than most companies', but the important thing is that it works. Before Team CSC rode on Cervélos, it used a frame that came in 12 sizes yet several riders needed custom-made frames because none of the 12 fit. Now, they use five sizes (there is no CSC rider who needs the 61cm frame) and there isn't a single rider on the roster who needs a custom-made frame.
We see the same with our dealers, thanks to the logical size distribution customers are almost always able to find their preferred position on a Cervélo. No need for customs, certainly no need for women-specific geometry (to learn more about the fallacies of women-specific geometry, please check out this Knowledge Base article). The Knowledge Base also provides more information about our general road bike geometry philosophy.
| 73 Degree Seattube Angle (rear facing seatpost position) | | Size | Wheel Size | Head Tube Angle | BB Drop | Top Tube | Head Tube Length | Front Center | Rear Center | Stand Over Height | Stack | Reach | | 48 | 700c | 72.5° | 68 | 515 | 100 | 547 | 399 | 709 | 502 | 361 | | 51 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 530 | 120 | 558 | 399 | 729 | 522 | 370 | | 54 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 545 | 140 | 573 | 399 | 746 | 541 | 380 | | 56 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 565 | 160 | 593 | 399 | 764 | 560 | 394 | | 58 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 580 | 180 | 608 | 399 | 781 | 580 | 403 | | 61 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 592 | 200 | 620 | 399 | 800 | 599 | 409 | | Note 1: | The standover height is measured to the toptube directly above the bottom bracket. | | Note 2: | The above headtube lengths are for integrated headsets. To compare to non-integrated headtubes, deduct 20mm from the above lengths to adjust for the stack height needed for non-integrated headsets. |
| 76 Degree Seattube Angle (forward facing seatpost position) | | Size | Wheel Size | Head Tube Angle | BB Drop | Top Tube | Head Tube Length | Front Center | Rear Center | Stand Over Height | Stack | Reach | | 48 | 700c | 72.5° | 68 | 488 | 100 | 547 | 399 | 709 | 502 | 361 | | 51 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 502 | 120 | 558 | 399 | 729 | 522 | 370 | | 54 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 516 | 140 | 573 | 399 | 746 | 541 | 380 | | 56 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 535 | 160 | 593 | 399 | 764 | 560 | 394 | | 58 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 549 | 180 | 608 | 399 | 781 | 580 | 403 | | 61 | 700c | 73° | 68 | 560 | 200 | 620 | 399 | 800 | 599 | 409 | | Note 1: | The standover height is measured to the toptube directly above the bottom bracket. | | Note 2: | The above headtube lengths are for integrated headsets. To compare to non-integrated headtubes, deduct 20mm from the above lengths to adjust for the stack height needed for non-integrated headsets. |
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| | The Soloist Carbon is available as a frameset or with the DuraAce Team kit. Because Team CSC is so focused on equipment, it uses many different parts depending on the race course so there is no such thing as THE team kit. The Team kit we have put together reflects a few choices that the team makes for maximum durability, most notably the Ultegra cassette that you will find on all of their training and about half of their race wheels. We figure that just like it is for Team CSC, durability is a more important feature on your training wheels than saving a few grams. Speaking of wheels, for the complete team race kit, speak to your Cervélo dealer about a set of Zipp carbon wheels with a DuraAce cassette for racing. | Part | DuraAce Team kit | | Fork | Wolf SL | | Seatpost | Cervélo aero carbon - 1-position | | Shift/Brake Levers | Shimano DuraAce STI | | Front Derailleur | Shimano DuraAce | | Rear Derailleur | Shimano DuraAce | | Cassette | Shimano Ultegra 12-25 | | Chain | Shimano Ultegra | | Brake Calipers | Shimano DuraAce | | Crankset | FSA SLK Light MegaExo Carbon | | Bottom Bracket | FSA SLK MegaExo | | Headset | FSA | | Stem | 3T ARX Team | | Handlebars | FSA SLK compact / 3T Ergosum Team | | Saddle | Selle Italia Gel Flow | | Wheels | Easton Circuit | | Tires | Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick | | Specs may change without notice. |
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| | Every Cervélo frame comes with a limited lifetime warranty for the original owner. For full details on this warranty, please click here. Please note that frames not purchased from an authorized dealer are not covered by any warranty. For a list of authorized dealers, please check our dealer locator below. |
| | Here you will find Cervélo’s general owner’s manual. Additional information, as well as fitting information to optimize performance (as opposed to fitting information for safety purposes described in the manual) can be obtained from your Cervélo dealer. To read the owner’s manual, please click here. |
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